12 Crew Members Who Accidentally Appeared in Famous Movies

Sometimes a movie's behind-the-scenes elements don’t stay behind the scenes. Here are 12 crew members who accidentally appeared in famous movies.

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

In the second installment of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry knocks back mean kid Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) during a dueling lesson with Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) in the Great Hall. In the shadows, you can see a cameraman kneeling down beside the Hogwarts students when Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) picks up Malfoy. Director Chris Columbus should’ve used the vanishing spell to make the cameraman disappear. Evanesco!

2. Titanic (1997)

Watch closely when Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) enters the first-class dining hall to meet Rose (Kate Winslet) and her companions for dinner in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster and you’ll see a reflection of the cameraman in the glass doors through which he enters.

3. The Matrix (1999)

In the original Matrix movie, when Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) takes Neo (Keanu Reeves) to meet The Oracle for the first time, you can see the reflection of the camera in the doorknob to her apartment. The filmmakers clearly noticed the error and tried to cover it up by making it look like part of Morpheus’ coat, but the camera is still very visible, along with a green strip on the black leather to match Morpheus’ tie.

4. Spy Kids (2001)

In the beginning of Spy Kids, Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino) clearly isn't alone when she sits down at her bedroom vanity. Look into the mirror to the right and you can see the reflection of writer-director Robert Rodriguez—and his very large camera—just over her shoulder.

5. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

At the end of Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic, the protagonists come across a deserted French town where they finally meet the titular soldier (Matt Damon) they've been tasked with finding. Although their mission is to pull him from combat, Private Ryan refuses to leave until his own mission—to blow up a bridge to prevent the Germans from advancing—is complete. Just before the Allied Forces detonate the structure, Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore) and Private Reiben (Edward Burns) run across the bridge for safety. Just as they’re crossing it, you can see a cameraman and a cable puller in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

6. Gladiator (2000)

After the Battle of Germania at the beginning of Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Best Picture, Maximus (Russell Crowe) walks through his camp after his army wins the battle. As he stops to feed one of his horses an apple, you briefly see a crew member—in a pair of jeans—in the middle of the frame. We're pretty sure Levi's weren’t around in 180 A.D. 

7. Jaws (1975)

When the citizens of Amity Island realize that a rogue shark is terrorizing their waters in Spielberg's summer blockbuster, a large group of fishermen set out to hunt down the deadly animal in order to keep the beaches safe. In a wide establishing shot in the middle of the movie, you can see a cameraman and a grip with a light diffuser in a small boat leading the pack of shark-hunters on the left side of the screen.

8. The Fast and the Furious (2001)

At the end of the original Fast and Furious movie, criminal mastermind Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and undercover cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) get into one last street race. After just barely beating a train at its crossing, Dom hits a semi truck, which launches him and his 1970 Dodge Charger R/T into the air. Just as the car crash lands, you can see a stunt man in a yellow helmet—not Diesel—in the driver’s seat. It’s probably unreasonable to expect Diesel to do all of his own stunts, but it’s definitely interesting to see a real stunt person at work. 

9. Twilight (2008)

When Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) arrives for her first day at Forks High School in the first installment of The Twilight Saga, you can see the reflection of the boom mic operator in the windshield of her 1963 Chevy Stepside pickup. Later in the film, when teen vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and the father of his rival drive past and glare at each other, you can see the reflection of the cameraman in Edward’s backseat window.

10. Braveheart (1995)

At the beginning of Braveheart, Mel Gibson's William Wallace is reunited with his childhood friend Hamish (Brendan Gleeson) after having been away from Scotland since his youth. The pair get into a boulder-throwing competition at a wedding, and when Wallace challenges Hamish to throw a large stone at him, you can see a crew member (in a baseball cap) walking behind the townspeople in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

11. Jurassic Park (1993)

During the opening scene of Jurassic Park, a large crew of animal wranglers cautiously begin to introduce a caged Velociraptor into one of the park’s exhibits. When the gatekeeper climbs on top of the cage to raise the gate, the dinosaur inside dislodges the cage from the secure entrance. Just before the gatekeeper falls to the ground, you see a brief flash of a crew member’s hand trying to break his fall at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The moment is so quick that you likely missed it the first time around—and we wouldn't blame you. This was one intense opening sequence!

12. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

At the very end of the first Pirates movie, Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow is finally reunited with his pirate ship, The Black Pearl. As he orders his crew to get to work, saying, “On deck, you scabrous dogs!” you can see a member of the film crew wearing a cowboy hat in the background in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Last we checked, cowboys and pirates don’t mix well.